Geneva, West Chicago, forge a new agreement

GENEVA – West Chicago and Geneva officials have been working for the past year to update their boundary agreement.

Aldermen acting as the Committee of the Whole voted to recommend approval of an agreement that will give Geneva a development advantage of 60 acres available for annexation. The City Council will take final action. West Chicago officials are taking similar actions, officials said.

The city’s comprehensive plan calls for the acreage at Geneva’s far southeast corporate limits to be zoned light industrial, officials said. Previously, the land would have been shared by the two cities in two counties, something officials said developers were not interested in.

“We have had multiple parties interested in developing the land north of Fabyan [Parkway] and south of Route 38; it’s a big swath of land,” Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns said. “It clarifies development opportunities and infrastructure needs for both communities. ... In a more holistic way, it reinforces the mutual respect that both communities have for each other and strengthens a relationship we have built over the years.”

Burns said the land is unincorporated and would have to be annexed through a developer’s request.

A second intergovernmental agreement with West Chicago will mean Geneva will join in responsibility for maintaining 1.12 miles of Kautz Road for utilities, easements, IDOT maintenance agreements, costs and influence of DuPage Airport Authority.

The agreement states Geneva will do resurfacing when it needs to be done each five to 10 years, plowing, ice control, parkway and parkway trees and the bike path. The estimated cost to Geneva will be up to $10,000.

Geneva would be responsible for Kautz Road from the northern line of the Route 38 intersection and north to Division Street extended. Geneva would not be responsible for the intersection of Route 38 and Kautz Road.

The agreement encompasses the Illinois Department of Transportation’s Route 38 overpass project, which affects the alignment of Kautz Road, officials said. Burns said it would mirror the grade separation done at Keslinger Road, where the roads were elevated above the train.

“We hope to have dirt being moved later this fall and construction hopefully starting in early spring,” Burns said.